One Letter at a Time
by Terapsina
Summary: Elijah intervenes and rescues Elena from the hands of Stefan and Damon after 4x21. He finds a new way of dealing with her that has unexpected results. Elejah.


Disclaimer: Not mine. Not even a little bit.

AN: My entry to Elejahlisiousbiatches' 15 Prompt Challenge on Tumblr.

*o0O0o*

* One Letter at a Time *

*o0O0o*

Her letters are stacked in a neat pile hidden from the curiosity of any one of his two siblings. They have after all both shown covert interest in the contents of the envelopes he like clockwork receives every Thursday.

By the way Rebekah has thoughtfully observed him with a slight smirk however tells him the writer might have, at some point while his sister still remained stubbornly apart from her brothers in Mystic Falls, revealed the deal he had drawn. Or maybe it had slipped into one of the hour long phone conversations he knows Rebekah sometimes still engages in with the woman he can't help but find fascinating.

Elijah's fingers play with the stack before smoothly, though with some reluctance, he takes out the one at the very bottom. He does not often let himself read them anew, but sometimes a small indulgence is permitted.

_Dear Elijah,_

_I really wish written word could contain the sarcasm of that 'dear', because truly I still feel nothing. And I do not know how you expect this deal of ours to change that._

_My week has been fine. I had a very pretty meal today, you should have seen him ('cute' doesn't even begin to cover it). He was sweet on my tongue… and his blood was tasty enough too._

_What else? Oh yes, the puppies have been put in their places. What did you say to them? They haven't been trying to curdle my fun since you left. I'd say I'm grateful, but… well, that'd be a lie wouldn't it?_

_With a sense of apathy,_

_Elena._

_-*o0o*-_

The call from Rebekah had been a surprise, the events relayed to him even more so.

And though the stability of New Orleans was fragile at this early a stage of his move, he knew he must interfere before the unwise actions of the Salvatore men did more harm to an already hollowed spirit. He admired Elena's ability to withstand the constant blows of the world but this could be a strike even she might not survive.

Elijah had never approved of the heavy handed approach of releasing a caged humanity. Had more than once seen the horrifying consequences of some of those attempts. There was always a risk of the breaking of a psyche. The risk of the vampire going rabid from the intensity of guilt and grief and in even worst cases becoming nothing more than a blankly staring corpse that felt neither emotion nor the drive for blood and so, if someone did not stake them in mercy, would let itself starve for centuries.

Those were not the fates Elena deserved.

So here he was, back in Mystic Falls, in the middle of the night following the older of the two brothers to assess the severity of the situation.

He saw it all.

Elena readying to drink from the human friend his sister was infatuated with, Stefan stopping her and Damon joining the theater.

Because a theater was all it was. They were all in the middle of a prewritten play with a cast of three showmen performing their roles for the audience of one, moving towards the grand finale. He noticed what Elena was still too hungry to pay attention to, the shared glances between her two lovers, the hitches in the boy's heartbeat, the tensing muscles of his back… and the ring Matt Donovan carefully kept out of the line of her sight.

He could guess where this was heading and had to restrain himself as not to draw their attention to him too soon. But the rage at their idiocy was building.

'_Grief. They wish to go at her through loss. Had they no sense? Could they not conceive of the damage this might create?'_

"… She doesn't love anyone? Fine. Prove it! And if I'm wrong, what difference does it make? One less busboy."

Elijah calmly took a step towards them, getting ready to make his entrance and avert the oncoming tragedy he knows will come from the needless crime of stealing yet another choice from this woman he, quite despite himself, grew to admire almost a year ago.

"You're bluffing."

And before Damon's hand could twist to snap the neck in his grip Elijah had his own iron hold on the younger vampire, while pushing the two men apart from each other he couldn't help to wonder if this counted as the stealing of a scene.

He bent his head in greeting to smile at the startled Elena and then turned his gaze towards the third man. Stefan Salvatore was staring back with the tired eyes that contained both disappointment and relief. Maybe there was some lingering sense he could reason with there.

He proved the validity of Elijah's thought when helping up his cursing brother he took a grip on his shoulder to stop the temperamental sibling from foolishly attacking the much stronger Original. Damon's inability to learn from his mistakes truly was rather amusing.

"Well, it seems I've arrived just in time."

"Elijah."

Elena breathed out his name in that way of hers he'd started to look forward to at their meetings.

-*o0o*-

He shakes his head and sighs heavily, trying to rid himself of his memories before he moves towards the unopened envelope that sits on his desk. Elijah has kept himself away from opening the newest letter long enough.

It is time to find out exactly what Elena has to say to him this time, to face the words that have been written with a shaky hand and not the smooth cursive he's become familiar with over the two years since he settled in New Orleans to stitch back what is left of his family.

_Dear Elijah,_

_I know what you planned. You knew I couldn't write my thoughts without a feeling or two bleeding through didn't you? You asked me to take these moments away from my day, so that I didn't have anything to distract me from my own mind. My own heart. You wanted me to find myself back one letter at a time._

_Congratulations. It worked._

_But I have a question for you now. Why did you ask me to write to you? Why not just give me a notebook and tell me to write a diary? Was it just to keep up with my progress? Was it to make sure I actually kept to my end of the deal? Or did you want to hear from me?_

_Was it curiosity? Or was it concern?_

_I don't even know why that matters to me. But before I let it all back in (like I feel I'm about to) I want to say thank you while I still can. Before everything I've done and everything I've lost overwhelms me I need to tell you this. Thank you for not pushing me. For letting me move at my own time. And for stopping them._

_Always and forever you said, I guess you really did mean what you wrote._

_With feeling,_

_Elena._

He reads through the letter thrice before the doorbell catches part of his attention. Then the excited scream of Rebekah gathers the rest of it and at the edge of his thoughts he acknowledges that his sister's laughter is one of the best changes of their move. He can remember what happiness from her sounds like again.

He stands up and moves to walk towards the hallway, there is a guest Elijah is more than ready to see again.

Because there was an oversight he hadn't foreseen when telling Elena to write to him. He hadn't realized that having this constant window into Elena's soul might pave a road to falling in love.


End file.
